Baking and Desserts…

Coconut and Red Currant Clafoutis…

Today is just one of those days… Nothing seems to be going right no matter how much passion and enthusiasm I throw into things. I realise now that starting a blog is hard when you’ve got perfectionistic tendencies! I read so many food blogs and they are absolutely gorgeous! Filled with bright and beautiful photos, mouth-watering recipes and special snippets into people’s lives. (Tartelette, La Tartine Gourmande, Bakerella to name a few) My problem is I’m still figuring out how to work all of this! I love food photography but I’m really stuck when it comes to lighting and all that. And how do you put two photos together in one image? It’s like learning a whole new language. But I suppose its a journey, just a frustrating one when it doesn’t always go as planned. (says me, the one with perfectionistic tendencies)

At least the food part is something to cheer me up. Seeing the joy that your food brings to those who eat it is the best part about becoming a chef for me. My dad is the most expressive person I know when it comes to eating. I’m never left wondering whether or not he enjoyed what I made, as the “hmmm’s” and “oh wow this is good!”s can just about be heard from the other side of the house! But I must admit, he’s also honest. When things haven’t turned out the way I planned he’s always there with constructive advice on how to change things the next time I make it.

We made christmas eve dinner together this year and it was wonderful! Bacon and mushroom bites with honey mustard glaze for starters, Turky and deboned pork neck for mains with roast veggies, caramelised butternut and twice baked potatoes with bacon, and then I made a chocolate mousse bombe for dessert. Needless to say, I think I might have put on some serious weight! But so worth it.

Like I said in my previous post, I’ve been so busy in the kitchen this month, that I haven’t had the time to post about any of it. And seeing the mountain of photographs and recipes that have piled up, I’ve decided to rather not post about all of it. Instead, I chose my favorite thing that I’ve made this month… Coconut and Red Currant Clafoutis.

I was wondering round the market after work one morning, when I spotted some red currants. Before now I’ve never tasted them, and I’m like that, that I wanna taste everything! I wanna know everything there is to know about food! So I bought some and brought them home. And they are awesome, such a fruity, tart taste that just explodes into your mouth, wow. I knew I had to make something with them, so I went online to see if I could find a recipe that spoke to me. And here it is…

Preheat your oven at 350 F (180 C). Butter small molds.
In a bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk with the sugar and add the cornstarch and flour.
Beat in the coconut milk.
Arrange the red currants at the bottom of the ramekins and divide the batter between them (do not fill up too full as they will rise a little).
Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (or more depending on the size of your molds). The smaller they are, the shorter the time in the oven. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if you like.